More than one in ten people in Northern Ireland believe setting fire to homes where immigrants live during last month’s disorder was justified or are unwilling to condemn it, according to the first major study of public opinion since last month’s riots.
The poll of 1,000 adults, carried out by the think tank More in Common in the days after the unrest that followed the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie in north Belfast, found 87% say the arson attacks were not justified, while 8% say they were and a further 6% are undecided.
The minority grows for intimidation: one in nine (11%) say intimidating immigrants into leaving the area was justified and a further 8% are undecided – meaning almost one in five people would not call it unjustified.
Large majorities rejected every violent act tested – 90% say setting fire to vehicles was not justified and 89% say the same of throwing bricks at police officers. Peaceful street protest was backed by 75%.
More than eight in ten (83%) are concerned about people being forced from their homes or businesses because of their nationality or ethnic background – a concern shared by at least three in four of every voter group. A majority believe Northern Ireland is now unsafe for immigrants in general (56%) and Muslim people (55%), while just one in ten say the same of unionists or nationalists.
Overall, 62% describe what happened as riots rather than protests, a view held across communities, and 77% say those taking part do not speak for them. Three in five (60%) say the disorder ‘brought shame’ on Northern Ireland.
The public are more split on whether the violence was warranted. While 59% say it was unjustified, a majority of unionist voters (52%) say it was entirely or mostly justified, and one in three people overall see the rioters as “standing up for Northern Ireland”. The report’s authors, Conleth Burns and Cian Ward, note that “a significant minority of people can identify the violence as rioting and still feel it was warranted”.
Across the north, 76% now regard racism as a serious issue, compared to sectarianism (73%) and paramilitary activity (68%). Six in ten say there is more racism than five years ago, and 82% say it is growing online.
Meanwhile, 62% back immigration checks at the border with the Republic even if it means a harder border, with nationalist voters split down the middle at 45% to 44% either way.
Asked for one word to describe Northern Ireland, the most common answer was “divided”. Yet 60% believe Northern Ireland’s best years are ahead of it, more than twice the figure in Britain (26%).